1. Field of the Invention
A medical device, such as a stent, for delivering a therapeutic substance is disclosed. The stent includes a polymeric coating for reducing the rate of release of the therapeutic substance.
2. Description of the Background
Blood vessel occlusions are commonly treated by mechanically enhancing blood flow in the affected vessels, such as by employing a stent. Stents act as scaffoldings, functioning to physically hold open and, if desired, to expand the wall of the passageway. Typically stents are capable of being compressed, so that they can be inserted through small lumens via catheters, and then expanded to a larger diameter once they are at the desired location. Examples in the patent literature disclosing stents include U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,665 issued to Palmaz, U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,882 issued to Gianturco, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,886,062 issued to Wiktor.
Stents are used not only for mechanical intervention but also as vehicles for providing biological therapy. Biological therapy can be achieved by medicating the stents. Medicated stents provide for the local administration of a therapeutic substance at the diseased site. Local delivery of a therapeutic substance is a preferred method of treatment because the substance is concentrated at a specific site and thus smaller total levels of medication can be administered in comparison to systemic dosages that often produce adverse or even toxic side effects for the patient.
One method of medicating a stent involves the use of a polymeric carrier coated onto the surface of the stent. A composition including a solvent, a polymer dissolved in the solvent, and a therapeutic substance dispersed in the blend is applied to the stent by immersing the stent in the composition or by spraying the composition onto the stent. The solvent is allowed to evaporate, leaving on the stent strut surfaces a coating of the polymer and the therapeutic substance impregnated in the polymer.
Depending on the physiological mechanism targeted, the therapeutic substance may be required to be released at an efficacious concentration for an extended duration of time. Increasing the quantity of the therapeutic substance in the polymeric coating can lead to poor coating mechanical properties, inadequate coating adhesion, and overly rapid rate of release. Increasing the quantity of the polymeric compound by producing a thicker coating can perturb the geometrical and mechanical functionality of the stent as well as limit the procedures for which the stent can be used.
It is desirable to increase the residence time of a substance at the site of implantation, at a therapeutically useful concentration, without the addition of a greater percentage of the therapeutic substance to the polymeric coating and without the application of a significantly thicker coating.